William w



' W. W. BUCHER.

AUTOMATIC ENGINE CONTROL FOR INTERNAL COMBUSTION POWER UNITS.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 2.1916. 1,324,793. Patented Dec. 16, 1919.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM W. BUCHER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO ELECTROMATIC SYSTEM COMPANY, OF PORTLAND, MAINE, .A CORPORATION OF MAINE.

AUTOMATIC ENGINE CONTROL FORINTERNAL-COMBUSTION POWER UNITS.

Specification-of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 16, 1919.

Application filed June 2, 1916. Serial No. 101,265.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM W. Boomer citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago,'in the county of Cook and State of.

Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Engine Controls for Internal-Combustion Power Units, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in automatic engine control for-internal combustion power units and it appertains more especially to the features pointed out in the annexed claims.

The purpose of my invention is to provide a threefold control for isolated electric plants by automatically regulating the admission of fuel charges to the engine, the relation of the electric circuits to the dynamo and storage battery and the admission'of air to the carburetor; that will admit of hand control in starting the set; and which will automatically release the hand control as soon as the engine has attained speed.

With these and other ends in view I illustrate in the accompanying drawing such instances of adaptation as will disclose the broad fundamental features without limiting myself to the specific details shown.

Figure 1. ls a diagrammatic view of aself contained lightin unit.

Fig. 2.Is a view similar to Fig. 1 showing the parts shifted to another position.

Fig. 8.Is an enlarged diagrammatic detail of a switch in its starting position.

Fig. 4.-Shows the switch in its .run

' ning position.

Fig. 5.Shows how the governor link passes under the gravity catch of the switch instanced in Figs. 3 and 4:.

Fig. 6.Is a detail elevation of an adjustable trip secured on the governor link.

Fig. 7.-Is a view similar to Fig. 1, showing the parts in starting position.

My invention, in one form of adaptation comprises an internal combustion engine 1 provided with a carburetor 2 having the usual fuel supply and an air inlet 4. This inlet is shown in Figs. 1 and 2. in a diagrammatic manner without reference to itsexact location in relation to the fuel bowl or mixing chamber of the carburetor which in common use is found to vary largely; The

supplementary air was of uniform quality,

inlet 4 is understood to mean the usual air inlet found on all'carbureters that combine the air admitted through such inlet with the fuel, for subsequent admission to the intake manifold, under the control of a throttle. The fuel charges from the carburetor 2 are admitted to the engine inlet manifold by the throttle valve 7 A supplementary air inlet 5 is provided and a control valve 6 is placed therein. The valves 6 and 7 are so positioned that when one is open the other is closed. Rods 8 and 9 respectively connect valves 7 and '6 to an arm 10 of the governor control which may be made in the form of a Torin any other shape. A short arm 12 extends from the fulcrum point 11. It carries a counter weight 13 which admits of'the easy counter balancing of the entire system of levers connected to overnor 15 bylink 14..

The use of a supp ementary air supply. controlled by valve 6 makes the control of the engine more sensitive than if dependence is only placed on a control of the air which V .dueto the further fact that the ordmary fuel charges that would be supplied if no admitted thereto would be practicall which charges, whet er the load fluctuates or not, retain approximately the same ratio of air to the fuel supplied to the carbureter through the usual needle. valve (not shown in this instance). Whatever fluctuations of load arise, this basic ratio is not changed but uniform engine speed is secured by controlling the admission of supplementary air to the unmodified fuel charges and at practically the same time controlling the mixture, after being modified by the supplementary air, before delivering the same to the intake manifold of the engine. y

The arm 10 is extended as arm 16 which serves to control the electric circuits which start at dynamo 3 and traverse wires 26 and 27 to switch 25. This switch is automatithe dynamo by means of switch '25, when the wires 29, 30 are in circuit with wires 26, 27 and its stored current is prevented from flowing back again to the dynamo whenthe engine is not running by a spring 23 attached to hand switch 21 that is pivoted at 20.

When switch 21 is on contact 22 the battery 28 will supply Current to the dynamo over switch 25 so as to rotate its armature and thus start the engine which may have any desired form of ignition. Moving switch 21 into the starting position causes gravity catch 19 pivoted at 36 to drop its heavy end 37 and at the same time raise its shorter end in front of stop 35 of the lever 21, thus holding the handle locked until the engine has attained a certain desired speed, when the governor 15 through arms 16 and 17 and trip block 18 moves the gravity catch to release the lever 21 which is then pulled out of contact with point 22 so as to break the batterycircuit. If desired the switch 21 can be made double pole without changing the rinciple of action.

T e trip block 18 may be mounted adjustably on the arm 17 by means of set screw 40 and held on the arm from sidewise displacement by a screw placed in the arm 17 through slot 39. This screw may have an index mark which will assist in setting the block in various positions according to the point of speed at which it is desired to cut the battery out. Different settings may be identified and easilyrepeated by means of a scale 41. The projection 38 engages the heavier V shaped end 37 of the gravity catch 19 as the arm 17 moves into the running position shown at R of Fig. 5. This figure also shows the stoppingand starting position at SS. The switch 21 is provided with a handle l2 to facilitate its movement, and stops 43 of bracket 44 prevent the hand or the spring 23 moving the lever too far in either direction. When the operator shifts the handle 41-2 to start the plant he need not retain hold of the same until the engine has come to speed because the gravity arm 19 automatically locks the lever in its on position as shown in Fi 3.

The switc 25 is automatically shifted from the battery and dynamo connection to the dynamo and service mains 32, 33 through a service switch 31 to lamps 34 or other current consuming'devices, whenever the engine speed has risen high enou h to generate a current in the dynamo of t e required voltage. On stopping, the switch 25 is automatically returned to the batterydynamo connection so as to be ready for restarting whenever desired. Any suitable combination ofcircuits may be used for recharging the battery or the link 24 may be unhooked from arm 16 so that current will flow from the dynamo to the batteryas long as desired.

With the arrangement of parts instanced or. their practical equivalents the three-fold control brings about a very steady result in voltage under load fluctuations from O to maximum due to the dual control of the fuel mixture of the engine. In fact a closer regulation with a mechanical governor is attained than if exclusive electrical control is used and the entire unit is less complex and not so expensive to manufacture.

What I claim is- 1. In engine regulators, an engine, a mechanical governor operated thereby, a carbureter for supplying fuel to the engine, an arm having a fulcrum support therefor and a connection to the governor, a link from the arm to the carburetor to control the charge to the engine, another link to the air supply of the carbureter, and independent connection from the arm to a circuit control, a dynamo and a battery connected to such con trol, service mains, and connections therefrom to the dynamo through the circuit control or from the battery to the dynamo whereby the governor simultaneously controls the fuel charges the air supply and the circuit control. i

2. An automatic engine control, comprising an internal combustion engine, a dynamo acting atdifl'erent times as a motor and generator, service mains supplied by the dynamo, a main switch between the mains and the dynamo, a storage battery ada ted to receive current from the dynamo or s 1pply current thereto, a switch for controlling the flow of current to and from the battery, a carbureter for the engine, a normal a1r supply thereto, a supplementary air supply therefor, a throttle control between the engine and carburetor, a centrifugal governor actuated by the engine, and connections from the latter to the throttle, the supple- 'mentary air supply, the battery switch and the service main switch adapted to actuate these connections in proper sequence in relation to each other and the speed of the engine.

3. An automatic power and service control comprising an internal combustion engine, a dynamo connected to the engine, a fuel inlet to the engine, an auxiliary air supply for the fuel, a storage battery, a manually operated retractive battery switch, a governor, connections leading therefrom to the battery switch, a connection from the governor to the fuel inlet, another connection to the air supply, means controlled by the governor adapted to automatically open the battery switch and transfer the dynamo current to the service mains while at the same time the battery is automatically cut off from the dynamo.

-4 An automatic control for internal combustion engines, comprising a suitable engine, a carbureter therefor having fuel and air inlets, an independent auxiliary air supply to the carbureter, a mixture valve to the engine, a governor actuated by the engine, connections. therefrom to the mixture valve and the independent air supply, a dynamo, a storage battery, service mains, circuits therebetween, and means connected to the generator for automatically controlling such circuits simultaneously with the supplementary air and fuel mixture whereby great steadiness of engine action is secured thus preventing excessive voltage fluctuation in the dynamo.

51A manually operated battery switch normally held in an open position and controlled by a mechanical governor, an arm actuated by the governor, an adjustable trip block carried by the arm, a self retracting arm controlled by the block to hold the arm in an on position, and means connected with the block adapted to release the arm therefrom so as to permit the arm to autos matically move to an off position when a predetermined'speed is reached.

6. An engine control, cbmprising an electric generator connected therewith, .a battery, service mains, interswitching means adapted to connect the battery to the generator or the latter to the mains, a carbureter, a fuel outlet therefrom to the engine, a normal air inlet therefor, an auxiliary air inlet thereto, and a mechanical governor adapted to automatically control the interswitc'hing, the fuel to the engine and the auxiliary air'supply simultaneously.

7. An automatic engine control, comprising an engine, an electric generator connected therewith, a battery serving to start the engine through the generator, a switch for connecting the battery to the dynamo to effect the starting, a governor actuated by the engine, an arm moved by the governor, service mains, a switch for controlling flow of current thereto, detachable connections from the switch to the arm, releasing means on the arm adapted to open the battery circuit at a predetermined speed, a carbureter, a normal air supply leading thereto, an auxiliary air supply, a valve therein, a volatilized fuel valve controlling the intake to the engine, and connections from bothvalves to the governor.

8. An automatic engine control, comprising a go 'ernor actuated thereby, a carbureter, a normal air supply to the same, a fuel mixture outlet from the carbureter to the engine, an auxiliary air supply, means for simultaneously controlling the charge to the engine and the auxiliary air by suitable connections therefrom to the governor, a generator also serving as a motor, connections therefrom to the engine, service mains leading from the dynamo, a switch therein controlled by the governor, a battery, connections therefrom to the service mains also controlled by the governor, a battery closing switch adapted to start the engine through the dynamo acting as a motor, and independent means controlled by the governor for opening the starting switch at a predetermined speed.

9. An automatic control for internal combustion engines, comprising an engine, a governor actuated thereby, a dynamo connected to the engine, a carbureter, service mains supplied by the dynamo, a battery for starting the engine, a control for the fuel mixture to the engine from the carbureter, an auxiliary air supply to the carbureter, a valve therefor, a switch controlling the service mains and the battery, a separate switch controlling the battery only, and separate connections from both switches the auxiliary air and the fuel mixture to the governor whereby the same are operated in proper sequence at predetermined speeds of the engine.

10. In an automatic engine control system, an engine, a dynamo connected thereto, a governor driven by the engine, service mains supplied by the dynamo, a curbureter, a passage therefrom to the engine, a normal air supply for the carbureter, a supplementary air inlet leading into the passage, separate valves in the passage and inlet, connections therefrom to the governor, the valves being so positioned with respect to each other that when one is open the other is closed, a main switch in the service mains and connections therefrom to the governor, whereby said switch and the valves are under the automatic control of the governor..

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM W. BUCHER.

Witnesses:

N. S. AMST'UTZ, A. M. SCHERTZER. 

